[OPTION 2] Contribute to his 529 college savings account (Parent’s Preferred Option, Jackson not so much)

(There’s a $25 minimum, but if you’d like to give less or don’t want to put your information in Fidelity you can give cash or a check and we’ll deposit it into his account)

Here are a few examples showing the value of different gift amounts now and what they’ll grow to in the future.

With a gift of $25 it could be worth $70 by the time he’s ready for college.

$50 will turn into $140

$100 becomes $280

This is the power of compound interest over about 15 years assuming average returns from index funds.

So, “Why the heck are you depriving him of toys?”

We hope in the long run he’ll start to appreciate having less things and hopefully appreciate the real important things like education, experiences, time with friends and family more.

We also believe that when he’s older and sees lots of his peers paying off lots of debt from college, and realizes that he is in a much better situation because of the people who contributed to his 529 gift he’ll be so appreciative and grateful.

This will also give him more freedom in his life since he won’t be burdened with huge debt for decades after he graduates, while opening more options for him.